Chasing Yesterday
by Lukas McDrake
Summary: A new set of seven dolls-all male-are made. A new adventure emerges. What is in store for the mediums?
1. The Rozen Knight Dolls

**This is a list of the Rozen Knight Dolls and their weapons and special abilities, if any. When my friends looked at this story idea, they begged me to change it from Rozen _Maiden_ Dolls to something else because they're male dolls, so…yeah. If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears.**

**Anyway, all these names are genuine Japanese names. ^_^ Mesa took a lot of my precious time to find these!**

**Enjoy!  
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**1- Yuan**  
-**swords**-utilizes two swords, most wise of the Rozen Knight dolls  
Medium: Vivian Faruqi

**2- Teddo**  
-**club**-strongest of the Rozen Knight Dolls, nearly the most wise. Without a medium, he utilizes bursts of surfacing memory to obliterate all in his path.  
Medium: (none)

**3- Kuin**  
-**(none)**-has all the Rozen Maiden Dolls' main abilities (feathers, rose petals, strawberry vines, etc.)  
Medium: Vivian Faruqi (through Yuan)  
Activator: David Favre

**4- ****Ransu**  
-**staff**-can control the elements  
Medium: ?

**5- Ivon**  
-**daggers**-has the most stealth of the Rozen Knight Dolls  
Medium: ?

**6- Yu-Jin  
**-**guns**-utilizes two guns, most accurate of the Rozen Knight Dolls  
Medium: ?

**7- Je-Muzu**  
-**pole**-specializes in poles  
Medium: Eleanor Gassandra


	2. Chapter 1: Nori: Je Muzu

**Full summary:  
Eleanor Gassandra (or Nori, for short) knows that someone left her a long time ago, but can't remember who it was. It had been someone very important, though. The seventh Rozen Knight doll, Je-Muzu, makes her his medium-a definitely miserable position. Will she escape Je-Muzu's wrath-and find the person that ran away from her in the process?  
Meanwhile, Vivi Faruqi, an average girl at first sight, is much more on the inside. She strives to know what life's meaning is, but can't seem to get the right answer. Then, the first Rozen Knight doll, Yuan, comes to her house, and forces her to be his medium. When she realizes what life's meaning is, will she help Yuan see it, too?**

**This is my first Rozen Maiden fanfic, so please don't flame if the urge comes (I've only seen the first season)! If you have criticism to give me (which I do appreciate), please give it in a positive manner! Please and thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rozen Maiden, nor the original characters. I only own my interpretation of the Rozen Maiden dolls' personalities, and my own characters.**

**Again, this disclaimer will not be dragged through all the chapters. If you seriously want to read it (which I really hope you're sane enough not to do), come back here.

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**NORI  
**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 1-Je-Muzu**

_"Don't leave me!" I screamed._

_"Good-bye," he whispered, smiling. He was so beautiful beyond imagination. His eyes were closed, and he seemed at peace._

_"No!" I started running towards him. "Come back!"_

_He opened his eyes, looking down at me. Pain flashed across his face for one instant, then the mask came back over. "I'll come b-"_

_A flash of light, then he was gone._

_I fell to the floor, screaming in agony as sobs vibrated through me._

As I woke up, I realized that I actually was screaming in agony, crying for his absence. I quickly silenced my cries, wanting no one to know of my pain. I sat up in bed, holding my legs close as I rocked back and forth, sobbing, suffering as silently as possible. I reviewed the nightmare once more.

As always, though, I couldn't remember his face. Even though this was a childhood memory that I had reviewed a million times over, I could never remember what he looked like. What his voice had sounded like. It was almost like, with his actual disappearance, my memories of him had disappeared one by one, until I only had this one left.

And I couldn't even remember his _face_!

My sobs increased in volume, no matter how much I tried to suppress it. I couldn't help it. I ached for someone that I didn't even know in memory anymore. From what I could remember, he seemed like a jerk.

But...there was more to him than those few seconds I could remember. I knew it. Somewhere deep down, I'd fallen in love. Maybe not as a child, but later on, during these eight years of his absence. He'd taken a piece of my heart. No, the whole thing.

And hadn't given his in return.

That was the only thing that kept me going now-hoping of finding him someday, and receiving his love in return at long last.

I sighed, knowing that it was a hopeless cause that I put hope in. But I couldn't really do much else. For, in my eyes, happiness was intricately intertwined with love in such a way that you couldn't have one without the other.

But, alas, I had neither. At least, for now.

So I hoped for something other than today. I wished for what tomorrow would bring.

And, in this way, eight years-however painfully slow-eventually passed by, so that I was fifteen years old now.

And nothing had really changed since I had been seven, and he left me.

Sighing again, I wiped away my tears, my fit of emptiness over.

I had to get my disguise up and running again.

As I got dressed, I eventually came in control of my emotions again. The mask that I prepared each day was near perfection, now. As I looked in the mirror, there were no detectable signs of the turmoil within me. No telltale risks to my secret. Mentally, the thoughts were already blocked by an impenetrable barricade.

I was prepared for today.

* * *

_Yay_, I thought, sarcasm dripping from my mind's voice. _Last class_.

I sighed, wondering why school had to go by so slowly. Finally, the last days were upon the students and teachers. Today was the tenth to last school day this year.

Promptly after the bell rang, the substitute for Mr. Johnson proclaimed, "Mr. Johnson told me to hand out these worksheets for you guys to do. When you finish the front side, you may...get into your groups for your 'Rube Goldberg' project, or whatever it's called."

I refrained from groaning in boredom. Could this day be possibly more dull?

As she started handing out the dreaded worksheets, I knew that the sheet would be a piece of cake. I knew Rube Goldberg inside out.

"You may also talk to your fellow students about the worksheet," she continued, bringing me back to the present. "but if you start talking about anything but Physics, then I'll take your privelages away."

Suddenly, nearly everyone stood up in unison to find their friends and make a social circle of sorts. Very few people weren't even fazed by her announcement, but those few included me.

I sighed, and started on the worksheet. I had nearly assumed that it would be on series circuits, but it was actually just a cartoon of a Rube Goldberg on how to sharpen your pencil.

_Window opens, allowing kite to pull string. String pulls open cage, letting out...moths? Moths eat woolen coat, letting boot drop to hit switch._ I stifled a guffaw over how long the process of sharpening a single pencil could take. Eventually, I finished elaborating every single step, and turned over the worksheet. The directions on the back side stated that you were supposed to draw a diagram of your Rube Goldberg project, and write the names of the five people in your group on the bottom.

I sighed. Who would I team up with? So far, it seemed that everyone was already filled in...

"Hey, Nori!"

I jerked my head up, turning my gaze toward the individual who had called my name. Jen happened to own the voice.

"Want to come and join our group? We have room for one more!"

Whoa. Runner-up for head cheerleader was asking _me_ to join _her_ group? What did she want with me?

Trying not to let the chaos that was suddenly wreaked within me show, I threw her a smile, and declared, "Sure, I'll join." I grabbed my stuff, and headed over to her circle of friends. Once seated, I looked around, and noticed that Jen's brother, Dave, and Vivi were also there. Only four? "Wait. There's only four people here..."

"Oh, Stevey's in here, too," Jen explained. It was too obvious how revolted at the prospect she was. A moment of assessing the situation later, she turned to Vivi, and urged, "I think that you might as well bring Stevey over right now. We'll need his smarts to come up with a way to dispense the hand sanitizer."

As Vivi turned around to call the autistic kid over, I decided to tune everything out, for now. That's one of my best tactics at non-humiliation. _Speak only when spoken to,_ I reminded myself. _That way, you won't interrupt their conversation, and waste their precious time._

I let my thoughts drift away to the subject of my mysterious crush. Couldn't I at least remember _one_ detail about him? Where had he gone after the incident? Was he still there?

Would he accept me if I ever managed to find him?

I let myself tune back into the conversation to distract myself. I noticed Stevey's retreating back as he headed for the door. He must have been going to that one program that he always had to announce his exit to the teacher for...

"So...Who'll go gather everyone else up to go to your house?" I heard Jen say as I tuned back in.

"Who can drive?" Vivi asked. "I know I can't yet..."

"I can't, either," I immediately excused myself from the list of possibilities.

Jen sighed, "I should have assumed...only seniors are left."

"You guys are both seniors?" Vivi asked, startled.

"Yeah," Jen explained. "It sort of comes with...being twins."

Vivi's blue eyes bulged slightly at this. "Oh. I...never knew..."

"Anyways, I'm sort of short on gas money..." Jen brought us back to the subject at hand.

"So you're leaving it to me?" Dave nearly growled, throwing a cold glance at Jen.

"I didn't say that," Jen stated with a calm tone. "What's with the mood swing?"

He hesitated for a moment, then muttered a quick, "Nothing."

Jen hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Anyway, it would be appreciated if you did the carpooling."

After another moment's worth of irritation, Dave exhaled deeply, "Fine."

"Thanks," she stated. Then, she quickly turned to Vivi, and asked, "Your parents won't be home, right?" Her ploy to change the subject was nearly too obvious.

Vivi shifted nervously in her seat. "My brother won't be home."

"What about your parents?" Jen pressed.

Vivi hesitated, her nervousness rolling off of her in waves. "They died in a car accident when I was five."

An awkward moment of silence commenced as everyone seemed to jump back slightly at this unexpected confession. That meant that she was an orphan like me! What if... "Then why aren't you in the orphanage?" I asked.

"I...my brother had just graduated a month previous, and he has been taking care of me ever since the accident," she explained, seemingly still nervous under the sudden attention.

"I'm so sorry," Jen jumped in, offering Vivi some solace.

"It's all right," she quickly muttered. "Really. I never really knew my parents. I think the only person it affected very much was my brother."

Another moment of silence passed before Dave decided to cut in, and change the subject. "So...uh, where will your brother be after school?"

"He'll be at work," Vivi explained, obviously grateful about something, now. I personally thought that Dave's motion to change the subject should be questioned. What if Vivi still needed more solace, or something?

Silence overcame us again for another moment. "Uh," Dave intercepted again, his deep voice magnified by the silence of our bubble, "where does he work?"

I barely noticed a slight pink come to Vivi's cheeks, due to the fact that I was sitting right next to her. _Oh, yeah_, I remembered immediately. _She's probably flattered that a quarterback is talking to her_. I stifled another change of emotion coming to my face. _She needs to learn that it doesn't really mean anything outside of the fact that they actually acknowledged you, because they never really remember chance encounters like that_.

Then, Vivi spoke, bringing me out of my train of thought. "He's never actually showed me his office," she stated. "He works as a mental therapist." Her blush was threatening to deepen in hue...

Then, she was saved by the bell as it rang.

_Wait_, I thought. _Why am I so concerned over Vivi suddenly_?

I pushed the thought aside as Jen mumbled awkwardly, "So, um, I'll be picking up you guys up at around three fifty. Be ready with your stuff. Where was your place again?"

I headed out the door to get my stuff from my locker in the sophomore hall, and then back to the orphanage.

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time I got back to the orphanage from school. I closed the door quietly behind me, and started to walk to my room.

As I passed one of the many employees, he pressed, "Eleanor?"

Ignoring my annoyance at the use of my hated name, I replied, "Yes?"

The employee came up to me, and stated, "A package came for you today. It's waiting in your room."

Curious, I mumbled a quick, "Thanks," and quickened my pace. Why would someone be sending me a package?

I came in my room, and closed the door behind me, locking it before going to inspect the package on my bed. It was a cardboard box. It showed no signs of being handled too much. That was probably due to the orphanage's new policy, which said that they would respect every orphan's privacy, and not inspect any packages any further than sending them through a metal detector.

I tried to lift it, and found that it was heavier than I had expected. Carrying it across the room to my desk, I dropped the box on it, and opened the top of the box.

Inside, drowned in Styrofoam, was a suitcase. Pulling the suitcase out, I carried it back to my bed, and dropped it on there.

I hesitated before opening it. It looked very...elegant. Fancy. A little too much for me. The carvings on it included poles, clubs, swords, among many other things.

I set my fingers on the latches, my curiosity winning over, for the moment. I slowly clicked them open, and the suitcase popped open slightly. I slowly opened it, revealing a...doll?

You couldn't exactly call it a doll-it looked too...realistic. It was obviously masculine, with shaggy hair, and a flat chest. It wore a red shirt that seemed to have sleeves that were a little bit too big, bulging over the cuffs. It's black pants were also slightly baggy, and it's black sandals fit perfectly. It had blond hair, falling over it's ears, and barely out of reach of it's shoulders. It's eyes were closed, and it seemed at peace.

I pulled it out of the suitcase, finely lined with white silk on the inside, and inspected the doll further. Turning it over, I saw a keyhole in it's back. Looking back in the suitcase, I found the key. Picking it up, I inserted it into the doll's back, and turned it twice. Then, I pulled it out, watching what happened next.

It's eyes slowly opened, revealing terrifying ruby irises. I shrieked quietly, dropping it back in the suitcase.

"That's not the way you treat a doll!"

I looked around to find the source of the voice.

"Over here, imbecile!"

I glanced back at the doll, and saw that it was standing up by itself..._glaring_ at me.

"Y-you...can talk?" I asked, making the connections instantly.

"Of course I can!" it yelled. It jumped out of the suitcase, and ran at me. Before my reflexes could kick in, it had rammed into me, pushing me to the floor. "Now, kiss my ring, and I'll give you mercy!" it cried, showing me the ruby ring it wore on it's finger.

A memory nagged at the back of my mind...from long ago...

"Do it!" it shrieked. "I'm losing my patience!"

My mind back in the present, I made a quick decision, and kissed the ring, not knowing why I had to, except for the immediate reasons-it would kill me if I didn't.

It laughed maniacally, jumping off me as a bright light filled the room.

"What's happening?" I cried.

"You'll soon see," it laughed.

I soon realized that the light was centered around my right ring finger. As the light subsided, it revealed a ruby ring, identical to the doll's, on my finger.

"What's happening?" I repeated, shrieking quietly.

"You're now my servant," he chuckled. He stared at me menacingly, daring me to defy him.

"You can't force me," I muttered, giving him his wish as I glared at him.

He suddenly jumped into the air, light forming around him. I suddenly became drowsy, collapsing to the floor. As the light subsided, it revealed that the doll had grown to become the size of an average human.

Grabbing me by the hair, he dragged me up to his eye level, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"I have access to your energy. You're now my medium. And there's nothing you can do to change that now," he muttered, smiling maliciously.

Too drowsy to ask what his outbursts meant, I gave into the darkness settling at the edges of my vision, suffocating in it.

* * *

**Sorry to end on a despairing note...it does get better from here.**

**Did you like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Tell me all in your reviews! I'll be waiting for one! Did you hear that? ONE!**

**So...pretty please, could you be that one single person?**

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	3. Chapter 2: Vivi: Rube Goldberg To This

**VIVI**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 2-Rube Goldberg To This**

_And, yet again, extreme boredom reigns supreme_, I thought sarcastically as I listened to the geography teacher ramble on about Russia. _At least this is the second to last week of school_, I quickly added.

Finally, after an eternity of listening to the monotone of the teacher and the occasional snore of my fellow students, the bell rang. Everyone nearly jumped up in unison, and flowed out of the doors to follow the flooding of the halls. I followed a current headed toward the freshman hall. Stopping at my locker, I gathered my things for Physics, and, finding that their weren't enough students to describe it as a current anymore, headed towards Mr. Johnson's room.

Unlike the previous class, I actually usually enjoyed this class. After all, who doesn't enjoy comedy shows? From the occasional electrocution of a student, to all the mild insults he threw at people who's self esteems he had already made sure were unbreakable, who wouldn't laugh?

I plopped into my seat, exactly in the middle of all the desks. Then I noticed that Mr. Johnson wasn't sitting in his usual seat at the front of the class. Instead, there was a woman standing behind the long lab table at the front.

_Oh, yeah! Duh! _I reminded myself. _This was one of those days that he said that he'd be 'missing in action'._

When the bell rang, the substitute stated, "Mr. Johnson told me to hand out these worksheets for you guys to do. When you finish the front side, you may...get into your groups for your 'Rube Goldberg' project, or whatever it's called."

A 'Rube Goldberg' is a contraption that does something simple in the most complicated way. Mr. Johnson had the Physics class do it every year. This year, because of the recent outbreak of Swine flu, he was having us make a contraption that would dispense some hand sanitizer. The contraption had to at least have five object to object transfers (as in, an object hits another one, and makes that one move along while the first one stops), and seven energy to energy transfers (only a Physics student would know what that meant).

As I got my worksheet, the substitute declared, "You may also talk to your fellow students about the worksheet, but if you start talking about anything but Physics, then I'll take your privileges away."

Nearly everyone excitedly got in groups of cliques or friends within the class. Except me, of course.

I sat alone, working on my worksheet. It was a cartoon of a 'Rube Goldberg' that we had to explain each of the steps. Occasionally, someone would turn to me and ask a question like, "What is step G?", or "What does the switch do?" I would answer each, like the nerd I was, and then turn back to my work.

Finishing up, I realized that I didn't really have a group for the 'Rube Goldberg' project.

"Come over here and help us, Vivi!"

I turned to see that Jen was the source of the voice. Quickly, I smiled, and obliged, "Sure, Jen."

Once I had transported myself to a desk close to her group, she asked, "I sort of don't get this step."

I looked at her sheet, and saw that she was pointing at step M. "The hummingbird pecks at the pencil until it's too short to be held by the stand, and it falls," I explained. "Then, it hits the knife, and gets sharpened."

She quickly scrawled what I had said down on the paper, and muttered a quick, "Thanks."

"No problem," I feigned a smile. "I'm glad to help."

As she finished writing down the answer, she asked, "Would you like to be in our group with us?"

I glanced at Stevey. He was an autistic kid that I had happened to befriend last year in junior high. Now, he always clung onto me like a magnet, expecting me to always want him around. The only reason why he wasn't always in Special Ed was because he had 'high functioning autism', which meant that he was extremely smart, but can't deal with emotional chaos. A.k.a.-he has to have everything his way, or else he has a breakdown. Literally.

I always had to keep in mind that he didn't know in the slightest how annoying he was, and he was still a very little kid in heart...and mind.

"Stevey will have to come in, too," I sighed.

Jen huffed, her platinum blond hair waving with the move. "Seriously...I'm sorry to say it, Vivi, but...how can you stand him?"

I sighed again. "I have no idea."

And I seriously didn't. I mean, everyone else was always ticked off, and didn't want to come near him, while I was the only one that could put him in control of himself, and could actually tolerate his presence.

...I guess that just came with being a nerd.

"Well, anyway...I guess he can come in, too," Jen stated, turning to Dave, her brother. I recognized disgust in her blue eyes. "That's four..." Then, she turned back toward the class looking for someone. "Hey, Nori!"

We were sitting in a back corner of the classroom. Nori was sitting in the opposite corner of desks from us, which was closer to the lab tables that occupied the other half of the room. Nori jerked her head up, and looked at us, her black hair bobbing to the side.

"Want to come and join our group? We have room for one more!"

She smiled, though it obviously didn't touch her eyes, and agreed, "Sure, I'll join." Taking her stuff over to our circle of desks, she looked around. "Wait. There's only four people here."

"Oh, Stevey's in here, too," Jen quickly explained, openly showing her disgust at the prospect. Then, she turned to me, and offered, "I think that you might as well bring Stevey over right now. We'll need his smarts to come up with a way to dispense the hand sanitizer."

I sighed, then quickly turned and yelled, "Stevey!"

Stevey turned his head, and smiled. "Hi, Vivi!"

I forced a smile, despite the fact that I felt like I was being humiliated at associating with him. I had to keep reminding myself that popularity doesn't matter. _After all_, I reminded myself, _you're already on the bottom of the food chain. What do you have to lose?_

"We're in this group," I stated, barely loud enough for him to hear over the commotion of the classroom.

Wordlessly, he brought his stuff over to our circle, and sat silently. He happened to sit in between Nori and me.

At the bottom of my paper, where there were five spaces for the names of the people in your group, I wrote, _Jennifer, Steve, David, Eleanor, Vivian_.

I sighed. "So...how are we going to do this?"

As we started to plan it out, I noticed that Nori kept herself out of the conversation, seemingly caught up in her own thoughts. I kept this observation to myself, though when she glanced up at me, I smiled at her before looking away, as to keep her wish to stay uninvolved.

Eventually, we figured that everyone would come over to my house at four o'clock, except Stevey. He had to go to 'respite', a program that gave the parents a break from their mentally challenged kids, though he was told that his parents didn't need a break from him. How devastated would he be if he learned the truth? It made me sad to think about it.

Stevey left class early to go to his 'respite' session.

"So..." Jen trailed off suggestively once he was out of hearing range. "Who'll gather everyone else up to go to your house?"

"Who can drive?" I asked. "I know that I can't yet..."

"I can't either," Nori quickly dismissed herself from the equation.

"I should have assumed...only seniors are left," Jen sighed.

"You guys are both seniors?" I asked.

"Yeah..." Jen trailed off. "It sort of comes with...being twins."

"Oh." Comes to show how ignorant I am towards the popular. "I...never knew."

"Anyways..." Jen brought us back to subject. "I'm sort of short on gas money..."

"So you're leaving it to me?" Dave asked in irritation, his eyes still concealed under his shaggy brown hair.

"I didn't say that," Jen stated calmly. "What's with the mood swing?"

Hesitating for a moment, he then muttered, "Nothing."

There was another tense moment of silence, in which Jen stared at Dave with...concern? I could never read emotions very well. Jen then broke the silence by rushing, "Anyway, it would be appreciated if you did the carpooling."

Another moment of silence commensed. "Fine," Dave exhaled deeply.

"Thanks," she stated. Then, she turned to me. "Your parents won't be home, right?" Jen asked me, an obvious ploy to change the subject.

I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, and quickly stated, "My brother won't be home."

"What about your parents?" she asked.

I hesitated before whispering, "They died in a car accident when I was five."

Everyone, even Nori, seemed taken aback. There was an awkward moment of silence. "Then why aren't you in the orphanage?" Nori spoke a full sentence for the first time since I had met her.

"I...my brother had just graduated a month previous, and he has been taking care of me ever since the accident," I explained, putting aside my surprise that Nori actually had spoken.

"I'm so sorry," Jen mumbled, sincerity pealing through her voice.

"It's alright," I excused. "Really. I never really knew my parents. I think the only person it affected very much was my brother."

There was a moment of silence. Then Dave, his blue eyes showing now, and flitting around nervously under his veil of hair, asked, "So...uh, where will your brother be after school?"

"He'll be at work," I stated, glad, for once, that guys were practically emotionless. I also felt slightly...flustered. I mean, who wouldn't be when the coveted leading-quarterback-that-always-goes-with-the-head-cheerleader spoke directly to _you_?

There was another moment of awkward silence. I noticed that Dave's specially-for-football muscles were twitching in nervousness. Obviously feeling a need to get rid of the silence, Dave questioned, "Uh, where does he work?"

Again with the flustering..."He's never actually showed me his office. He works as a mental therapist." I was, yet again, glad that guys were awkward around emotional moments of any kind, and usually felt the urge to get rid of them as quickly as possible. I seriously didn't want to talk about my problems to people who couldn't really understand. After all, I wasn't really that affected...unlike Nori over there. At least, that was the only conclusion I could come up with for Nori's thoughtful silences.

Gratefully, the bell rang before any more questions could be asked. Jen excused, "So, um, I'll be picking up you guys up at around three fifty. Be ready with your stuff. Where was your place again?"

After I repeated the directions to my house, we all dispersed.

* * *

**So...do you like Vivi so far? Maybe I made her sound bland...**

**Critique is welcome! Though I hired an awesomely awesome beta (Thanks Rain'chi for all that you do!), we might have both missed some minor errors, and it would be very appreciated that, if you found one or two, you'd point them out. Please and thank you!**

**This time, I'm waiting for one review.**

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	4. Chapter 3: Nori: Power

**NORI**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 3-Power**

* * *

I was roused by someone shaking me. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked at my shaker. It took me a few moments to make sense of the small person standing on my bed.

"Get me a cup of tea," the little doll ordered.

I was still a little too groggy to quite comprehend this. "Huh?"

Suddenly, the little doll pulled out a pole from behind it's back, and whacked me on the nose.

"Ow!" I shrieked, holding my nose with both hands.

"In the name of Rozen," he muttered. "Get. Me. A. Cup. Of. Tea!"

I looked at my alarm clock. It displayed 9:46 in neon green numbers. "It's time for bed," I groaned, dropping my head on my pillow.

"I always have a cup of tea before I go to bed," he hissed at me, holding up his pole threateningly.

"Who are you to order me around?" I asked, defiant.

"Je-Muzu, seventh of the Rozen Knight dolls," he yelled. "Your new master. Now go, and fetch me a cup of tea."

"Why?" I asked.

"I always drink tea before going to bed!" Je-Muzu screamed at me. He whacked me on the chin, and then jumped off the bed, and onto his suitcase that lay on the floor, sitting on it as he watched me expectantly. "Go," he repeated, pointing at the door, and raising his pole menacingly.

I glared at him, then got out of the bed, and muttered, "Fine."

As I closed the door behind me, I stewed my irritated thoughts of that infuriating doll. Who did he think he was? Oh, yeah. My master. Sure.

I'd show him.

I walked into the kitchen, where the kitchen staff was cleaning dishes from dinner.

"Could I get a cup of tea?" I asked one of them.

She stared at me peculiarly. "We don't have tea here. It's against policy."

I sighed. "I meant herbal tea," I explained. "Don't you have any herbal tea? I can't get to sleep."

She rolled her eyes before muttering, "Whatever you say."

A few minutes later, she brought me a cup of steaming herbal tea. "It's lavender chamomile flavored," she stated. "I heard it's the best for helping people get to sleep."

"Perfect," I declared, smiling at her. "Thanks."

"No problem," she mumbled, turning back to her work.

I walked back to my room, stewing my thoughts once more. Rozen Knight dolls? What the heck were those? Guessing by the way he'd said 'in the name of Rozen', Rozen was his maker. Seventh doll...that suggested that there were at least seven dolls....'knight' was probably just a term to portray their gender-I hadn't seen anything to prove that Je-Muzu was worthy of being called a knight so far...

I quickly came to my door. I entered, and found Je-Muzu still in the same place as I'd left him.

"What took you so long?" he complained, quickly running up to me, jumping up as he grabbed the tea, and taking it back to his suitcase.

"That wasn't very long," I argued.

He took a sip, and swallowed. Then, he stared at it peculiarly. "It tastes funny," he stated. He glared at me. "This isn't tea."

"It's tea," I dejected. "Perfectly good tea."

"I wouldn't say perfect...but, I guess this is all that you stupid humans have," Je-Muzu concluded.

I gawked at him. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused from my presence," he muttered in a monotone, taking another reluctant sip of his tea.

"I meant we humans aren't stupid," I hissed.

"Where's your proof?" he asked.

"I..." Blank for ideas, I sat down on my bed.

"I said you were excused from my presence," he reminded me.

"This is my room," I explained.

He looked up at me. "Hmph," he huffed. "My servant has a room."

I detected his sarcasm. "This is my room. And I'm not your servant."

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked, glaring at me. "My servant is rebelling on the first day of her job."

"I'm-" I started.

"Silence!" he yellled. " I need to concentrate on sleep," he whispered, setting the cup of tea on my desk. "Take that back," he ordered.

I was so angry at him. He thought I was his servant. "I'm-"

"Silence!" he repeated, glaring at me. "Servants only speak when spoken to."

I was about to argue further, but then he snapped his fingers, saying, "I wish it didn't have to come to this. My servant should be more obedient."

My mouth suddenly shut of it's own will, and I couldn't find the willpower to speak.

I gawked at him, and he answered my unspoken question. "I have complete power over you," he explained, then pointed at the ring on my finger as he continued, "When you kissed my ring, you signed a contract that binds you to me for as long as I wish." Climbing into his suitcase, he added, "You are my servant. End of discussion."

As he closed the suitcase on himself, my knees buckled. _What will I do now? _I asked myself. Unable to talk, I was forced to believe Je-Muzu's words. His proof laid in the fact that I couldn't speak.

A tear cascaded down my cheek. What else could he do? Could he control my thoughts? Could he control what I said, and did?

My worst fears now paled in the shadows of this new disturbance in life.

* * *

**And the plot thickens! ^_^ Hooked yet? Yes? No? Maybe so?**

**Btw, this is Chapter 3 instead of Chapter 2 because I was planning on switching pov every chapter, but couldn't find the inspiration on how to start out Vivi's pov. So, Nori is odds, and Vivi is evens...**

**...anyone confused yet?**

**Okay, I'll wait for another two reviews before adding another chapter. Ask any questions that you may have concerning this story!**

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**(cue for reader to press review button, and give at least one word summarizing their thoughts on chapter above/story)**


	5. Chapter 4: Vivi: Yuan

**VIVI**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 4-Yuan**

I closed the front door behind me as I entered the house. I quickly glanced at the clock; the arrows on it proclaimed that it was three hours and forty-five minutes after noon. I sighed, and dropped my book bag off in my room. At least Brock was coming home at seven tonight...

Before I could do much else, the door bell rang. I rushed to the door, and opened it to find a UPS guy standing there, with a little device in hand, and a big box laying behind him.

"I have a package here for Vivian Faruqi," he stated, smiling at me.

"That's me," I half-heartedly laughed.

"Are your parents home?" he questioned me.

"My brother is my guardian," I explained. "He won't be home until seven."

"So...you're the only one home?" he asked.

"Yes," I stated.

"All right," he exhaled. "Just sign here."

"Okay," I mumbled as he handed the device to me, and I signed on the touch screen at the bottom. When I finished with my sort-of-messed-up signature, I smiled up at him and said, "Thanks."

"No problem," he stated as he brought the box in for me. "Enjoy," he offered before leaving.

I closed the door behind him, then inspected the box. I had never received anything through UPS...It wasn't even my birthday.

I checked the clock again. It displayed that the time was three fifty. In ten minutes, Jen and them would be here...There was plenty of time to open my package and see what it was...

I retrieved a sharp knife from the kitchen and cut the tape sealing the box. Then, I dug through the Styrofoam to see that there was an intricately designed suitcase held within. Taking it out, I inspected it further. After closer inspection, I realized that the design actually consisted of mostly weapons.

My curiosity piqued, I clicked the suitcase open, and threw it open. Inside, there was a...doll? It looked too real to be a doll. It's black hair...I felt it with my hand. It felt too realistic. Though it was very soft, unnaturally so, it still was much more real than a normal doll. To top off my confusion, it was masculine. Who would have sent me a _male _doll? I don't think any of _my _relatives would have...

It's attire looked sort of old-fashioned. It wore a white shirt with baggy long sleeves, and buttons up the front, the top being undone. It also wore black slacks. The shirt was open just enough at the top to see the start of the crevice formed by a muscular chest. It also had black dress shoes that shined dully against the living room light. It had an onyx ring on it's right ring finger, and two onyx-hilted swords resting in sheathes that were attached to it's red leather belt.

Picking it up, I felt it's torso without realizing it. It felt...slightly bumpy under the shirt. around the stomach area.

My eyes were lured away by a shiny object in the suitcase. I saw that there had been a key under the doll. It was shiny, with no signs of age or rusting whatsoever. Placing the doll on the floor on it's front side, I inspected the key further. It was golden, or it at least appeared to be.

Glancing back at the doll, I noticed that there was a keyhole. Why was there a key for this doll? Was there some weird surprise concealed inside it, or something? Who came up with that? Maybe the doll could walk on it's own...but the legs seemed too loose for it to walk by itself...

Suddenly, I remembered that people were coming over. I looked back at the clock. Shoot! Four o'clock! I immediately threw the key back in, with the peculiar doll stuffed in not long afterwards. Before I could even pick up the suitcase, though, the doorbell rang.

_Shootness_! My thoughts were a chaotic jumble. What would they think if I had a fancy suitcase lying on the couch? I glanced at the end table in the corner of the room, lying in the dead space that the couches couldn't fill due to the need for foot room. _Perfect_!

Quickly setting the suitcase in some of the excess dead space not filled by the end table, I then answered the door. Jen was the only one standing outside the door.

"Hi!" I feigned a smile, despite the chaos careening through me. Does the suitcase fit, or is it taller than the couch? "I...uh...come in," I offered lamely.

As she came in, I noticed that Dave was still at his car, taking stuff out of the trunk. "Oh!" I remembered that Jen had offered to bring some things to contribute to the project. Purely on instinct, I rushed out to his car, and asked, "Could I help with that?"

He stared at me for a moment, seemingly inspecting me, then sighed, "Sure. I could use another hand."

I rounded the car to where he was, and looked into the trunk, trying to ignore the abrupt rush of butterflies in my stomach. "What can I take in?" I questioned, trying to distract myself from his...muscles...

_Get a grip! _I reminded myself. _Seriously! You shouldn't be thinking like this._

"As much as you can hold, I guess," he stated, bringing me the much needed distraction. Or so I thought. His deep voice only strengthened my primal instincts.

"I...uh, sure," I muttered lamely, not being able to come up with much reason to speak further. "Is all of this for the project?"

"Besides the spare wheel," he drawled sarcastically. Even his drawl drew me in...

"I-uh, okay." _Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..._

After a delayed reaction, I reached out for the biggest case at the same moment as he did. I should have known! He would've probably expected to have to carry it-big muscles, and all. Before I could stop myself, though, our hands collided.

Like the retard I was, I lost my balance at the same moment from the miscalculation. _Idiot! Now he'll know for sure!_

Next thing I knew, I was leaning on him.

Before I could let my thoughts rest on the situation for long, I squeaked, "Sorry! I...uh, I-"

"It's okay," he excused me, resting his hands on my shoulders. To say the least, my thought were already out of hand as it was. The chaos that wrenched through me was of gigantic proportions. Unlike what most of my thoughts were thinking this would go in my wildest dreams, he just pushed me back up, helping me stand. I was too busy noting that his hands were touching me to keep my balance when he let go. Before I could tip too far, though, he took hold of me again.

Another delayed reaction later, I realized I was staring at him stupidly, and lamely apologized, "Oh, sorry...I, uh, think I can stand now."

"It's okay," he chuckled as he let go of me, giving me a genuine smile. It stopped all of my thought processes from going anywhere else for a few seconds, only letting my eyes gaze lamely at his amazing blue eyes, mouth open wide. _Better insert foot now before I do something even more humiliating_, I thought.

I spoke anyway. "I think-" I made a move to cover my mouth before I could speak further, but thought better of it, and decided that just abruptly stopping my ability of speech would suffice.

"Yeah?" he pressed. I was still staring, so I noticed curiosity spark within his ponds of sapphire.

"I..." I trailed off as I spaced out. Jerking my head as to look elsewhere, I remembered why I was here. "I...sorry, I think that we should get going on the project," I offered.

"Sure," Dave exhaled, turning back to the car.

_Lame, lame, lame, lame..._

"This time," he interrupted my thoughts, "_I'll _pick up the big case."

I laughed nervously for a moment before realizing how retarded I sounded, and slapped a hand over my mouth before moving for some of the not-as-big objects.

It only took one trip for Dave and me to transport all the items in his trunk to the living room, which would become the construction site for our Rube Goldberg project.

"By the way," I asked them, "where's Nori?"

"Oh, when we stopped by at the orphanage, they said that she had suddenly caught the flu, or something along those lines, and couldn't come," Jen explained, shrugging her shoulders afterwards.

"I guess it's just us, then," I sighed.

"By the way," Jen questioned, "I couldn't help but notice that fancy suitcase behind the couch because the box seems like it was just opened, and I wondered what had been inside it...and I was wondering what it was doing there..."

_Shoot!_ I panicked for a reasonable explanation. "I...uh, it...UPS delivered it today," I decided to give them the truth.

"Oh," Jen whispered, gazing at it. After working on the project some more, she asked, "Do you know what's in it?"

_Oh, crap!_ "Um...there's a doll in there." Why did I always have to be a loser, and never think of a convincing lie?

"A doll?" she questioned me.

"Yeah, a doll." _Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

"What kind is it?" she asked. "Like, a Barbie, a brat..."

"I honestly think that it isn't any normal type of doll," I stupidly stated, not thinking about what I was saying.

"Huh?"

Then, I finally realized what I had said. "Oh! Um...I mean, it doesn't look like any doll I've seen, but it has to be a doll...at least, that's the only way I could explain it..."

"Could we look at it?" she asked.

"Who said that I wanted to look?" Dave countered, mood swing back in action. "Did you forget that we have a project due on Friday? That's only five days away."

"Yeah, there's plenty of time," she excused, looking back at me, her blue eyes expectant.

I realized that she was serious. "Um...maybe later?" I suggested, looking for a reasonable excuse.

"Why not now?" she pouted, giving me a puppy dog face. "Come on! I'm curious now..."

"I...uh, okay?" It came out sounding like a question. I glanced at Dave, who seemed absorbed into making the project. "Uh...you might as well look, too, Dave. It's a...guy doll."

"I'll pass," he mumbled, not seemingly fazed at all.

"Okay," I whispered, turning to the couch, which Jen was already sitting on, bouncing slightly in excitement.

I stood, and walked gently over to the couch, which suddenly seemed ominous...

"Go ahead!" Jen encouraged me. "I want to see it!"

I wordlessly picked up the suitcase by it's handle, and place it on the floor. Then, I clicked it open.

_Click. Click._

Hesitating, as if waiting for something to happen, I then revealed the contents by swinging the lid open. The doll still lay there, like I left it. The key still shown beneath it, as well.

"Whoa." That was the only word that Jen could speak.

"What?" Dave asked. It was only then that I realized that the room had become utterly silent as the inhabitants had turned to witness the contents of the suitcase.

"It looks so...real!" Jen explained.

"Huh?"

I picked up the doll, and held it up for him to see.

"Whoa. It does," he whispered, eyes bulging slightly in obvious awe. His mouth gaped open slightly in wonder.

Suddenly, he shook his head, muttering, "Yeah, let's get back to the project."

"Wait!" Jen proclaimed, pointing back in the suitcase, then at the back of the doll. "There's a key in there! It probably goes in the back of the doll."

"What?" Dave exhaled, obviously irritated by this sudden delay.

I turned around the doll to show him the back, where the keyhole still shone dully against the scattered fluorescent light coming from the ceiling light. Then, I freed a hand from the doll's shirt, and picked the key up. The key was nearly half as tall as the doll was.

"That's weird," he stated.

"No kidding," Jen agreed.

I nodded wordlessly, my bewilderment returning head-on from before.

"Don't you think you should...I don't know...put the key in?" Jen asked.

"I...don't know," I whispered.

"Who was the suitcase for?" Jen asked.

"I...it was addressed to me," I informed her.

"Then I think that you should put the key in," Jen declared.

"Well...shouldn't I wait until later?" I asked. "I mean, my brother gets home later tonight..."

"Come on, just do it!" she urged me on. "I'm curious what will happen..."

I turned to Dave for an excuse, but found that he seemed to be just as curious as Jen. I quickly turned back to the doll, embarrassed that Dave hadn't been emotionless, for once, when I sort of had needed it.

I sighed. "Fine."

I gingerly picked up the key again, and slowly inserted it in the doll's back.

Nothing happened.

"Turn it!" Jen pressed, bouncing up and down in her excitement.

Wordlessly, I turned the key. Once...twice.

Suddenly, the key was ejected out of the keyhole gently as the keyhole suddenly shrank, until it seemed as if it had never been there.

"D-did you just see that?" I stuttered, not believing my eyes.

"I...uh, it depends. I mean, did you see that keyhole disappear, too?" Jen asked.

"Huh?" Dave asked. I realized that he must have been far enough away to not see exactly what had commenced.

Before I could start to explain, though, the doll started to move.

Jen and I screamed, jumping away as if we had just both seen a spider.

"Stop screaming!" a slightly deep voice yelled at us.

We just screamed louder.

It stood up, and turned to me. It ordered, "Stop it! You are so loud..." It was seemingly glaring at me.

_I'm just imagining things...I'm just imagining things..._I kept repeating to myself. _This is all just a bad dream._

After another moment, Jen and I ceased our screaming, hyperventilation taking it's place.

"Seriously...I have no time for this," the doll stated. It then pointed a finger at me, and asked, "Were you the one that turned my key?"

I hesitated. Why did it want to know?

"Well, did you?!" it yelled, narrowing it's eyes at me.

"I-yeah, yes, I did!" I breathed.

It abruptly showed me it's right hand, displaying the now-amethyst ring, and I realized that the jewel was shaped like a sword.

I looked up into it's violet eyes as it ordered, "Then kiss my ring."

"What?!" I looked at it peculiarly.

"Just kiss my ring," it repeated.

I looked down at it's ring, wondering what would happen.

"Set your lips upon it!" it yelled. "It isn't really that hard..."

"What will happen?" I asked.

"Just do it!" it ordered again.

I deliberated for a second, gazing into it's eyes. I realized that, if this had been any normal human, he would have looked...beautiful. Gosh, what was I kidding? It seriously _did_ look gorgeous, now that I thought about it.

I slightly shook my head, trying to shake the thoughts away.

Before much else could happen, the mirror hanging over the piano started to shine. I turned my gaze toward it, and beheld a teddy bear coming out of it.

Could this evening possibly obtain any more insanity than it already had?

The doll uttered something under it's breath, then turned to me. "Hurry!" it urged after a moment's worth of hesitation, it's voice more gentle. I turned to it, and saw that it's irises had changed to white, speckled silver, and rimmed along the actual white of the eye with a slight gray so that you could distinguish the iris from the white of the eye. Glancing down at the ring, I noticed that it, too, had changed to pearl.

Suddenly, the teddy threw a pole at me. Barely dodging it, the pole stabbed the wall, wiggling as it tried to lose momentum.

I glanced at Jen as she fainted, most likely due to fright. Then, I gazed at Dave, who kept glancing at me and then the doll in utter shock, too terrified to react.

My attention was averted back to the doll as it spoke. "Kiss my ring, and I'll save you," it stated, it's calm, soothing tone taking over me.

I exhaled quickly, then bent down, and kissed the pearl, because his tone had suddenly ceased the chaos raging through me. This action of mine suddenly made sense, for some reason I couldn't explain. It was the only thing that made sense.

As I stood myself up again, I saw that a light was forming around my finger. I had to look away because of how bright it was. Eventually, the light faded to reveal a ring identical to the doll's on my right ring finger.

Before I could inspect it much further, the doll jumped up onto the pole still protruding from the wall, and used it's flexible form to gain altitude as he leaped across the room, and towards the evil teddy bear, his two swords taken out of their sheathes, and set in position to attack.

The teddy bear jumped out of the way, and onto the couch that Jen was laying unconscious on, obviously moving for me, and the doll's swords stabbed into the piano. Irritatedly, it pulled the swords back out. The doll grunted as he jumped back across the room, quickly cutting off the bear's path. Before it could respond, he slashed both of his swords through it, and it fell to the floor, tattered beyond repair.

"Huh," he grunted again. "Junk."

Before I could ask any questions, he turned to me, and apologized, his eyes amber, now, "Sorry that you had to be dragged into this mess, but I had no choice but to do so."

I suddenly felt slight exhaustion coming over me. "I...uh, could you explain any of this?"

As he jumped up, and took the pole protruding out of the wall out, he started, "All the damage done to non-humanoid things in this world will automatically heal itself in a matter of minutes, and things will look as if nothing had happened to them."

"I guess that's convenient," I stated as I attempted to think about it, leaning against the wall, and taking deep breaths. "But that doesn't explain...you."

"Oh, right," he muttered. "I forgot that most humans don't know anything concerning Rozen, nor his dolls." He sighed. Then, he reached one of his hands out towards me as he stated, "I'm Yuan, first of the Rozen Knight dolls."

I glanced at Dave, the only other human having witnessed everything up to this point. I raised an eyebrow at him, showing that I couldn't believe any of this, either. I accepted the doll's-_Yuan_'s-offer, and shook it's-_his_-hand.

Shaking my head slightly, I deeply exhaled. As long as the dream was...slightly pleasant, I would just go along with it.

* * *

**Yay! Yuan is in the plot at long last!**

**If there are any questions, comments, or critique, reviews are welcome. I'll be waiting for 2 this time...**

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**(cue for reader to press review button, and give at least one word summarizing thought processes going on upstairs)**


	6. Chapter 5: Dave: Kuin

**DAVE**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 5-Kuin**

Closing the front door behind me, I realized my eyes were still bulging. Composing myself, I turned around to see my mom in the kitchen.

"Is dinner almost ready?" Jen asked, skipping into the kitchen. Vivi and I had managed to convince her that none of that had commenced, but it would be harder to convince ourselves. After all, _both _of us had seen it. That doll was unmistakably real.

"Yeah," she replied, throwing a smile my way over the counter. "By the way, UPS dropped a package by today. Said that it was for you...Anyway, it's by the front door." She turned back to her cooking before I could ask any more questions.

Turning back towards the door, I saw that a box had been concealed by the door as I came in. Instantly, suspicion came. Was it another of those freakish dolls?

Picking it up, I carried it to my room, and dropped it on my bed, contemplating whether or not I should open it. What if this doll was even worse than that other one Vivi had under her wing?

_Man up!_ I thought. _You can deal with whatever it brings on..._

I ripped the tape off, and opened it to reveal Stryofoam. Digging in, I found the suitcase, which seemed identical to Vivi's. Pulling it out, I set it next to the box on the bed, and quickly opened it to find a...doll.

It was still very unsettling how realistic they looked. I thought I would have been used to how...real they were, by now.

Guess not.

This one looked very childish compared to Vivi's. It's face wasn't childishly fat, but it was unmistakably smooth, like a baby's skin. It had a green baggy shirt, similar to that other doll's. It also had white sweats, and white slippers. It had short brown hair, and it seemed to just be sleeping. It's face was slightly twisted, as if it was having a bad dream.

It looked so harmless...I couldn't help but feel..._pity_...

Shaking my head, I grabbed the key with one hand, and the doll with another. Before inserting it, I looked at its face once more. It still seemed upset, even in sleep...

I felt a tear make a trail down my face. Why was I crying?

Quickly wiping it away, I turned it back over and inserted the key, turning it twice.

I dropped the doll onto the bed when it started to move.

"Uh..."

I backed away from its childish voice. I hit the wall without realizing it, concentrating on the doll's movements.

It stood up, and looked around the room. Then, it spotted me. It's irises were freakishly white, and even from across the room I could see how they looked like milk, slightly in contrast with the actual whites of its eyes.

"...Hi," it mumbled, starting to back away. "Uh..."

"What are you?" I asked.

"I...I'm the third Rozen Knight doll," it stated, looking down at the bed, and holding its hands behind its back. "My name is...Kuin."

"Kuin?" I pronounced.

"Yeah," it muttered, looking back up at me. Now, blue shards mixed in with its white irises.

I couldn't speak. How did its eyes change color so fast? We stood staring at each other for what seemed like forever.

Then, the doll-Kuin, I reminded myself-looked around the room. "How long has it been since you activated me?"

"I...don't know," I answered him, looking at the clock. "Probably two minutes."

"Hm..." He seemed to be contemplating. When he turned back to me, his eyes had suddenly turned a liquid orange. He started to ask, "Would you-"

Suddenly, my mirror hanging up on the wall started to shine.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse...

"Quick!" I turned to look back at Kuin, and found that he had jumped from my bed to the dresser to my left, which was directly under the mirror. Jumping back from his sudden proximity, he urged, "Kiss my ring!"

I looked down at his hand, which had a ring shaped into a rose. The actual ring was gold-at least, that's what it looked like-but the rose was silver. Looking back into its eyes, I saw that they were now liquid iron.

"Dude, could you cut it-?"

"Hurry!" it pressed before I could finish.

I looked back down at the ring, contemplating whether or not I should do it. Vivi's doll couldn't save her until she kissed its ring... Holding Kuin's hand, I started to bring the ring to my lips.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the shining had suddenly stopped, so I turned my head to see that Vivi's doll, Yuan, had come out. Seeing that there wasn't an evil teddy bear with sharpened poles out to get me, I dropped Kuin's hand Kuin looked away, I saw that his ring turned brown, suddenly.

This mood ring/eye stuff was really freaking me out.

"Kuin," Yuan sighed, his eyes turning from silver to opal as he turned his gaze from Kuin to me and back again. "I see that Je-Muzu hasn't reacted yet." Then, he took a step closer to Kuin as he stated, "It wouldn't be wise to assume that he's not going to, however. We'd best be ready when he assaults us."

Glancing at me again, he looked downward, his eyes gaining white flecks that I could barely detect because I was only two feet away, at most. Then, he urged, "Let us hurry." Holding out his hand to reveal his ring shaped into a sword, he ordered, "Kiss my ring, Kuin. This way, you can draw energy from my medium."

Kuin threw a quick glance at me, in which I saw that his eyes had changed to chocolate and pearl.

_Cut it out_! I could barely resist to shout it. It was getting old really fast...

Quickly, Kuin turned back towards Yuan, and bent over to kiss his ring. A light illuminated the room, centered around them. Eventually, it dimmed away to reveal that an additional ring had been added to their opposite hands, Yuan's addition being a replica of Kuin's, and vice versa.

Then, just in time, the mirror illuminated again. I started to back away towards the opposite wall. Teddy bears were just not my thing...

Instead of a teddy bear, however, a stuffed rabbit came through the mirror.

Before it could do anything, it was suddenly crystallized. I glanced at Kuin to see that he was suddenly concentrating, as if trying to figure out the hardest math problem ever created. At least, that's how twisted his face was.

Barely a second had passed did Yuan then rush forward with his sword unsheathed. Slashing through the crystallized bunny, it shattered into millions of pieces, scattering in every direction.

Including mine.

Before I could panic, though, Kuin turned towards me, his face still twisted in concentration. Right as it would seem the crystal shards were a millimeter from contact with my body, they vanished.

I realized I was still holding my breath, and started to breathe deeply. "That was...close."

Kuin, throwing a smile my way, stated, "That's an understatement." Now, his eyes were shining emeralds.

After a few moments of this passed by, Yuan stated, "We'd better get back..."

"Right," Kuin agreed, his eyes flashing white as his smile vanished. He quickly glanced at me before continuing, "Let's go."

Quickly, Yuan jumped into the mirror, making it glow.

Before Kuin jumped through, he turned back to me. We wordlessly stared at each other.

"Bye," Kuin mumbled.

I stared into his eyes, wondering...what? Shaking my head imperceptibly, I muttered, "See ya."

Kuin lightly smiled, but his eyes didn't change, for once. He quickly jumped through the mirror before any more words could be spoken.


	7. Chapter 6: Nori: Volition

**~*~NORI~*~**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 6: Volition**

I gazed blankly out the bus window, not really seeing the passing scenery.

Je-Muzu could control me.

It was the only thought that could occupy my mind despite the fact that I still had complete control over my mind. Except for the fact that I couldn't speak. Other than that, everything was still normal...

Last night, I had fell asleep crying.

What other orders could he give? What other orders _would_ he give?

I had to be more careful from now on. I couldn't bear to provoke another such order from him. I had to make sure that I played along in the role of his servant...

That's when I realized.

Either way, I was doomed to become his servant.

I shook my head, tears cascading down my cheeks despite how much I tried to stop them.

"Are you okay?"

I jumped at the unexpected voice, glancing at the person speaking. It was an elementary student, across the aisle from me. Quickly wiping away my tears, a thought suddenly resonated in my head.

_**Servants only speak when spoken to.**_

It dimmed away, but remained, almost as if it was a reminder.

"I'm fine," I stated, slightly startled of what had just occurred.

"Are you sure?" the little boy asked, tilting his head in slight suspicion. Could he tell that something was actually wrong? That was the wrong question to ask, being that actual tears were on my cheeks for all to behold...

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"...Okay." The little boy turned away, looking as if he didn't believe me one bit.

I felt a slight urge to prove my lie to him, but the thought at the back of my head amplified until it was almost painful.

_**Servants only speak when spoken to.**_

Deciding it wasn't worth it anyway, I turned away. The pain immediately ceased.

~*~

Physics. Again.

I sighed as I entered the classroom, glancing around. _At least it's my last class._

_Before I return to see Je-Muzu again._

I closed my eyes, shuddering imperceptibly, before reopening them to see Jen.

_Shoot!_ I had totally forgotten about the Rube Goldberg project!

Taking some nervous steps, I was about to start my apology.

**_Servants only speak when spoken to_**.

I shut my mouth, not wanting the pain to become obvious, or lingering.

"Nori?" Jen started.

Finally permitted, I gushed, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for the project! I was..." _Knocked out by a living doll? How did that work out, again?_

"Sick?" Jen provided.

Hesitating for a second, I breathed, "Yeah."

"Yeah, we already knew," she stated, smiling slightly. "One of the custodians told us when we stopped by."

"Um... Okay?" Why did I make myself sound like such an idiot? I should be able to play along better.

"Anyway, you should probably sit by us today," she offered, putting her hand on a nearby desk. "If we have time, maybe we can work on brainstorming for ideas."

"Okay," I mumbled, sitting down in the designated desk as the bell rang.

"Quizzy-quiz time, everyone," Mr. Johnson announced, receiving various responses such as groans, and "ugh"s.

When the quiz was set down on my desk, I looked over the questions. They were all about either Rube Goldberg, or series circuits. I easily answered every question, sighing as I found that all of my peers were still writing by the time I flipped over the quiz, and set my pencil on top of it. Not being one prone to reading, I not-so-patiently awaited the moment that Mr. Johnson would check the quiz.k

After a few more minutes, Mr. Johnson declared, "Is everyone finished?" Everyone verbalized as much. "Then let's check the quiz." Pushing his glasses up his nose slightly, he pulled the paper on his desk toward him, and glanced at the smart-board to make sure that we could see what was on the quiz. "Pass the quiz one back."

I set my pencil to the side and grabbed my paper, turning to see that Vivi was sitting behind me. Exchanging a slight smile, I set the paper on her desk, but let my finger linger as I observed my ring that I'd totally forgotten about until this moment. Instead of being ruby red, like I had come to be used to, it was pearl. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the contrast of the bloody jewel of my memory versus the milky jewel of the present.

Why did it change color? It wasn't a mood ring...

I looked up, and realized that Vivi was looking closely at it, as well. I jerked my hand away, probably proving her suspicions obviously true, and turned back towards the front of the class.

While we checked the quiz and homework, I kept becoming more and more paranoid over Vivi's suspicions about my ring. What could she possibly infer from that, though? That I was engaged, at worst?

Then, of course, came the fact that I'd never seen the ring change color on me before. It obviously wasn't a mood ring because it would've changed colors way previous to that...

It had always matched his eyes.

... Could it be possible that my ring represented what _his_ moods were?

"Get with your groups and work on your project now," Mr. Johnson stated, standing to go to his office.

Glancing, I saw that everyone was already close together, so I just turned to face Jen, hoping that they would take over from here.

Seeing something shining in my peripheral vision, I looked down at Vivi's fingers, adorned with two rings; one was decorated with a milky rose, the other a jade sword.

"Nice rings, Vivi," Stevey muttered, smiling at her.

Vivi glanced at me, her eyes very nervous, then placed her hands under the table. "Yeah... I got them yesterday."

They moved on to talk about the project. I let myself zone out, knowing that I couldn't really bring attention to myself even if I wanted to. Unless I did something really stupid, anyway.

"By the way," I noticed Jen say, "what did you do with that doll you got yesterday in that suitcase?"

Doll? I turned my gaze back on Vivi, trying to hide my obvious interest in the matter.

Vivi and Dave shared a glance, which seemed to communicate their mutual, sudden tension, then she stated, trying for a casual tone, "I put it in my room, under my bed in the suitcase. Why do you ask?"

I thought that Vivi was really pushing it, but Jen seemed to eat it right up. "I'd..." She shuddered. "I...was just wondering."

A few more minutes passed while they talked about the project, then Jen looked at her watch. "We only have, like, five more minutes in here."

"Okay." Vivi asked, "So we're meeting at my house again tonight?"

"Yeah," Jen stated, a slight grin coming to her face. "We can't exactly do the project if we don't have the project with us."

"Oh," she whispered. "Yeah..." She seemed very distracted.

"All right," she giggled, amused. "We'll go around and pick everyone up at five again, I guess."

Everyone reached a consensus just as the bell rang.

"Well, see you guys at around five, then." Jen stood up, grabbing her backpack. "Come on, Dave. Let's go."

Before I turned around to walk out the door, I saw that Dave and Vivi were having another of those meaningful gazes.

I hoped, for her sake, that it wasn't for the wrong reasons.

Shaking my head imperceptibly, I took my leave.

~*~

"You're back," Je-Muzu muttered as I closed my bedroom door behind me.

"Yeah," I mumbled. I was about to say a rude comment, but reminded myself not to provoke another order.

He just huffed, and resumed looking out the window.

I plopped onto the bed, and decided to do my assignments before it came time to go to Vivi's place.

When I glanced at the clock after finishing my last assignment, it stated that it was four forty-five. I stood up, throwing my hand through the loop of one of my backpack straps, and put my hand on the doorknob.

"Wait."

I turned around, and looked at Je-Muzu, who was staring at me as he stood on my bed. "What?"

"Where do you think you're going?" he questioned me.

"I'm going to wait for Jen to pick me up," I stated. "She's taking me to...a place where we're going to work on a school project." As I finished my sentence, I reasoned with myself that he didn't need to know everything.

"Where would that be?" he asked.

"To where another person in our group lives."

His head started shaking visibly. "Servants tell the full truth."

His fingers snapped.

My mouth forced itself open, and said, "I'm going to Vivi's house, where we'll be working on-"

"That's enough-"

"-our Rube Goldberg project with Stevey and Dave, as well." I found that I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "I also-"

"That's enough!"

"-fear that Vivi might...have..." I was struggling against the order, trying not to give away so much information freely. "...a..."

"Go on," he encouraged, smiling.

I couldn't help it. "Doll."

He sat on the bed, soaking this in. While he seemed preoccupied, I opened the door, and was already halfway through it.

"Servants don't leave until excused," he hurriedly gushed, snapping immediately after the words left his mouth.

My feet suddenly glued themselves to the spot.

"I have one more thing to say before you go," he stated.

I waited, hoping the obedience charm, or whatever you'd call it, would permit me to leave after he said his 'one thing'.

"Servants don't give away their master's secrets."

_Snap_.

I tried to force myself to leave on sheer willpower-

**_Servants don't leave until excused._**

-but it wouldn't work. I felt like I would implode, the pain was so horrid!

"You're now excused from my presence." His voice seemed to be on the verge of a chuckle, so full of delight and pleasure.

I hesitated, then quickly closed the door behind me.

~**~


	8. Chapter 7: Vivi: Exchange

**VIVI**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 7-Exchange**

I quietly shut the front door behind me, exhaling as I leaned on it.

Today was just one of those days. Except it wasn't, if you know what I mean. After all, who else has living dolls to come home to?

"Vivi?"

Speak of the devil… I glanced down from the ceiling to see that the new doll-the one that had appeared last night about an hour after Dave left-was peeking around the corner of the living room threshold. His large, childish eyes shown noticeably silver, even from all the way across the room.

I take back the devil comment; Kuin looked too childishly innocent.

"Yeah, Kuin?" I sighed, giving him a slight smile.

His eyes warmed to a liquid cyan as he admitted himself into the room. He gazed bashfully at his feet. "Hi."

"Hi," I laughed, smiling wider.

"Hi…"

It seemed like there was something that he wanted to say, so I inquired, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…"

"Is there something you wanted?" I asked.

"… No," he stated.

It was pretty obvious that something was on his mind, but I didn't try to delve further. "If you say so..." I took a light breath. "You guys will need to hide in my room tonight."

"Why?" he asked, eyes flushing orange. It was quite unsettling. After a moment of recollection, I resumed, "People will be over here. People that don't know about you."

"You want to keep me a secret?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah," I answered him, brushing some of my hair out of my face. "It keeps everything much simpler. " _Not that it's simple as is_, I don't add for Kuin's sake. _However, things could be _much _worse..._

"How could everything become more complicated?" he pressed.

"Um... Seriously, I don't know." I gave him a smile. "It would help, though, if there weren't an angry mob crushing this house to bits under their feet in an attempt to see living dolls."

"Oh..." His perplexed expression and citrine eyes lit up, his irises flushing green. _A natural color_, I thought with relief. "Okay." Smiling, he walked off down the hall.

Letting out a deep breath, I plopped onto the couch. Looking up at the clock, I saw that it was already four o'clock. _Another hour_.

Sighing, I inspected my rings again. One, embedded with an emerald rose-Kuin's-and another with the gold interlaced across a citrine sword-Yuan's. Again, I tried to pull them off, but quickly gave up as the excruciating pain returned tenfold.

Deciding to do my homework, I finished the last Physics circuit diagram as the doorbell rang.

"Come in," I yelled, glancing at the Rube Goldberg project piled in the middle of the floor.

Jen opened the door and trailed in, followed by Dave and Nori. As Nori wordlessly observed the project, I glanced at Jen to see that she seemed rather uncomfortable. Either that, or just on edge. Maybe she didn't entirely believe the lies Dave and I had given to her.

"Let's start," Dave urged, glancing over at me. It seemed that he wanted to ask me a question. No, question_s_. Maybe he was wondering what happened to give me another ring similar to the one I received from Yuan. _I can't answer those questions until we're alone..._

And then, abruptly, my mind backtracked at the last word I used in coherent thought. _Of course, not _that _way!_

Preoccupied, I helped with the project, accidentally bumping into Dave a few times as we worked on our masterpiece, perfectly planned and mapped out by Jen.

After a few hours, Jen glanced at the clock. "Look how late it is! We should probably stop here, and come back to it tomorrow."

"Wait out in the car, Jen," Dave suggested. "I'll be out there in a few minutes; there's something I'm finishing up." I silently let out my pent-up breath as I realized his reason for staying behind for a few more minutes was perfectly viable; he was still working on securing a blow dryer to the top, which would be starting the chain reactions we were going to set up.

However, Jen still seemed suspicious. For a moment, I was scared that Jen wouldn't take it.

"Okay," she stated, walking through the door and closing it behind her.

I was about to start talking again when I realized that Nori was still in the room.

Dave seemed to have that covered, though, so I let him talk to her.

"So... Got a mood ring?"

Nori glanced hesitantly up into Dave's eyes, then immediately looked away. "Yeah..."

"That's cool." He turned back toward the project, glancing at me suggestively. And no, not in _that _way! Not that train of thought again!

Forcing myself to focus, I thought through what the gesture could mean. Was he giving me a cue?

"Do you have any dolls?" Ugh! So obvious! Why can't I be smooth like Dave? "I-I mean, I got some dolls the other day..."

"... Yes." She started shuddering. "Why...do you ask?"

"Did the ring come with it? Or them?" Hating myself more each moment... Why is she shivering, though? It's May. Or maybe she...

"Yeah." Suddenly, her hand whipped upward, hitting Dave in her rush to show off her ring. "Doesn't it look nice? I mean...I like ruby..." Just as abruptly, her hand shot back to her side. "I-I have to go." Almost as if she were a mechanism, she stiffly stepped out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Dave and I shared a glance. "What was up with that?" I queried.

"No idea." He looked back at the door, shrugging. "I guess we might never know." Turning back to me, he inquired, "Did an extra doll come last night?"

I was slightly taken aback. "Yeah... How did you guess?"

"He...came to my house first." He looked away, seeming slightly abashed.

"Really?" I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Then why don't you have his ring instead of me?"

"I... The opportunity sort of left too fast, I guess." I could tell he was hiding something.

"There's more to it."

"What?" He looked up at me peculiarly.

"You're hiding something." Might as well hit the point directly; time was running out.

"Like what?"

"Something about Kuin... Or something about what you did. There's more to it than just 'an opportunity that sort of left too fast'," I pointed out, providing air quotes with my fingers.

"Vivi..." He seemed extremely reluctant, suddenly tense.

My heart trilled for a moment at the sound of my name falling off of his lips-_ Oh, look how sappy I've become! I'm describing everything like an author of romance novels would! What's wrong with me?_ "Y-yes?" I stuttered stupidly, my hands dropping uselessly to my sides. _Ugh! Now it's too obvious! Will he read into that far enough to-_

Even my train of thought came abruptly to a halt as he looked at me. In _that_ way. I took a moment to pinch myself, making sure it was real. The only two people that existed were him and me. And I couldn't even take back that last sappy, coherent thought.

"Vivi..." he whispered softly, coming closer.

Not able to utter any words, I simply watched, my eyes shifting from his eyes to his mouth every second. No matter how much I anticipated it, I couldn't be prepared for what happened next.

His lips touched mine.

Before I could make sense of anything, a horn blared outside, startling us away from each other.

"Y-y-you sh-should go," I managed, staring into his eyes, and wondering why he had just did that. Something I'd secretly desired ever since I had the sense to crush a person in my life... It couldn't seem to register.

After a moment of returning my gaze, he looked away, and breathed, "Okay."

Without any other words exchanged, he left.

Placing a hand on my lips, my mind was still in complete hibernation. He _kissed _me...

"Vivi?"

I jumped, startled by the childish voice that sounded behind me. "Ah!" Realizing it was just Kuin, and wondering how long he had been standing there, I asked, "Kuin... Did you want something?" I could feel heat rushing into my cheeks.

I noticed the hue of his eyes-mostly brown, with a few specks of white sprinkled in. Despite how it matched his hair, it still didn't seem to fit. Something was wrong about that color...

After a moment of silence, Kuin stated, "No." Quickly hiding his face from my view, he walked down the hall.

A pang of guilt hit me. Dave never told me what happened last night between Kuin and him. Worse, I totally forgot to ask after he kissed me!

Was it really that bad for both of them?

~*~


	9. Chapter 8: Dave: Siege

**~DAVE~**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 8-Siege**

Here I was again, stepping into my house as I did before. Jen skipped to Mom's side to converse while I retreated to my bedroom, falling on my face as I crashed onto the bed.

What a day.

What made it a day? There wasn't so much action as there was yesterday... Minus, of course, the stunt I pulled off about fifteen minutes ago.

What was I thinking? I wasn't sure myself. Just that I needed a quick solution to escape Vivi's questioning presence, and it was only too obvious at that moment in time how head-over-heels she really was for me...and, to put it frankly, she actually _did _look somewhat cute with her neat, glossy brown hair and blue eyes popping our behind her glasses. So the answer came easily: kiss her.

But how would I deal with the consequences tomorrow? Just act like nothing had happened? That was a tantalizing card that lots of guys liked to pull...if they planned on actually hooking up afterwards. But what else could I do? Act like it _had _happened? What then? I guess I could pretend I didn't like the kiss, but that would make the act even crueler than it already was.

To say the least, no quick escapes were coming to my mind _now_.

Flipping over in bed, I let out a long exhale, imagining the stress disappearing through the motion. Nope, still there.

A glow in my peripheral vision caught my eye, giving me a much needed distraction.

It was definitely uncalled for, however; the mirror was the source of brilliance. Jumping up from my bed, I grabbed the closest weapon-a bat-and wielded it the best as I could against the next spear-wielding teddy that was about to climb through. How many could this invisible enemy conjure? For once, I wished I actually _had _let Kuin make me his "medium", or whatever you called it.

Talk about instant wish gratification; Kuin was the one to splash through.

Stepping daintily onto the desk underneath my mirror, he turned his gaze upward at me, warily watching me with his iron irises. It would take me forever to cope with those eyes of theirs, I swore to myself.

"I have to admit, your eyes are the freakiest part about you guys," I laughed nervously, dropping the bat.

A smile flashed across his features, emerald specks dancing across his irises. As quickly as the disturbance appeared, it was gone. "I could sense another assault coming here, so I thought I would come and assist you."

"Another assault?" I instantly regretted dropping my weapon, immediately bending down to pick it up.

"I'm not sure if that bat will help you much," Kuin stated, jumping off the desk. He was already by my bat by the time it was in my reach, so he assisted me.

"Uh, thanks." I held the bat with two hands again as if it were a sword.

Kuin giggled. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"What's wrong? My weapon choice? My skill?" I felt embarrassed, being criticized by a child. "You know, you haven't even seen me with a bat before-"

"Your grip," Kuin simply replied, ignoring my statement. "Compared to Yuan, your handhold is simply... There isn't a word to describe the disparity, really." He laughed again.

"Well, it's the best I can do," I mumbled, facing the mirror.

"I guess it will have to do," Kuin giggled, turning to face the mirror, as well. "I'll be doing the work, anyway."

Ignoring the jabs at my pride, I asked, "How do you 'sense' assaults, anyway?"

Kuin's smile faded to a degree. "All of the Rozen Knight dolls are connected... If I concentrate hard enough, I can open those connections." Kuin's expression became inquisitive. "So far, it's just Je-Muzu, Yuan, myself... Wait. Could it be...?"

The mirror began to glow once more.

"Stay back," Kuin ordered, stepping forward. "I'll take care of this."

I observed him-his perfect childish innocence. It seemed that any force thrown at him could crush him within a heartbeat. To say the least, how could I just abandon him? He seemed so helpless.

Kuin gasped. "What is-"

A stuffed elephant emerged, brandishing a sharp spear.

"Je-Muzu!" Kuin fell to his knees, his arms stretching toward the elephant. Vines grew from the wooden desk, reaching around the elephant's legs. However, it jumped out of the vines before they could tighten, rendering them useless.

"No!" A volley of black feathers launched from Kuin's illuminated hand, narrowly catching on one of the elephant's arms as it dodged expertly. Stuffing bulged out of the new opening.

Still, the elephant continued towards Kuin. "It's too much!" Quickly, he formed rose petals, and they slashed into the elephant's form. The elephant was apparently still intact enough to continue on its pre-destined course. Kuin collapsed, his cheek resting on the ground.

He was so suddenly weary! I didn't hesitate to take a hit at the daemonic toy, forcing it to fly into a wall from my blow. The head fell off, ending its short life as an assassin.

"So...much energy," Kuin breathed. "Energy intake... Je-Muzu is attacking Vivi...as well..." He groaned, squinting his eyes shut in agony. "But Teddo should be helping... I hope..."

"Teddo?"

Kuin smiled at what seemed to be an inside joke. "Another Rozen Knight... Another brother."


	10. Chapter 9: Teddo: Teddo

**TEDDO**

**Chasing Yesterday**

**By: Lucas McDrake**

**Chapter 9 - Teddo**

_"Teddo."_

_Smiling, I turned to Father, looking up into his warm eyes. "Yes?"_

_"Do wish to see-" He mouthed a word, his voice lost to my ears. "-again?"_

_Upon recognizing the word, I remembered the past I'd been trying to forget for the past few years. That word... It burned my heart, and it was so painful._

_But I did want to see it again. If only once more..._

_After a moment of hesitation, I simply asked, "Why?"_

_"I could give you another chance. I could give you all another chance," Rozen stated. "To-" Again, he was mouthing words, as if he had became mute. After a short pause, he continued, his expression downcast, "I...I made big mistakes, and I didn't have everything under control." Rozen sighed. "I'd like for you and your brothers to start over."_

_I didn't quite understand what he was saying - but I never completely comprehended his ramblings. "If that is what you wish, Father."_

_He smiled. "It is exactly what I wish for all of you. You deserve better than what occurred before. You deserve another chance to find the truth."_

_"Truth?" Perhaps it was another rambling of his. I found I couldn't concentrate hard on things as I could before... There could only be uninterrupted bliss._

_"Yes, truth." Father smiled wider, his white teeth showing. "I wish for you all to find the truth... Come with me, Teddo."_

_"Where are you taking me today?" I asked._

_"I'm taking you to...your destiny, perhaps." Oh, his riddles befuddled me so! It was quite irritating, sometimes._

_He patted his workshop table, signifying that I should get on top as I occasionally did when he wanted to show me his work. Climbing onto the table, I saw my new brothers. Father had been working on them for quite some time now, and they looked flawless. All four of my new brothers..._

_"Let me introduce you to your new brothers," Rozen stated, fondly handling the first in the row. "This one - the fourth Rozen Knight - is named Ransu." Placing Ransu back, he lifted the next one. "This one - the fifth Rozen Knight - is Ivon." He repeated the procedure for the last two. "This one, the sixth Rozen Knight, is Yu-Jin. And this one, the seventh Rozen Knight, is Je-Muzu." He straightened the row they made, saying, "I will be sending you and all of your brothers back into the world for another test."_

_"Another Alice Game?" I asked._

_"Yes," he sighed. His smile suddenly flipped into a downcast expression, his eyes losing the abounding life that was normally so natural. "Another Alice Game."_

_Memories - burning, hateful, accursed memories - flooded through my mind. As soon as one appeared, the next tagged along, making it painful to try and latch onto them. Painful to confiscate them. Each one hurt more than the previous, and finally-_

I awoke with a scream, gasping to recover a calm state of mind. It didn't help that I didn't recognize my surroundings - the dark innards of a suitcase, I realized after a few moments.

The last thing I recalled was what occurred in my dream. But was it a dream, or another memory I couldn't quite remember? And where was I now? Trying to remember, I found it hurt. The memories were buried beneath layers of pain... How long was I sleeping? The only things I could remember without biting anguish were vague, broad ideas - my seven brothers. An Alice Game previous to this. I was aware that I had won, and went to see Father again. I was even aware that, according to my nightmare, Father had told me nearly every secret to life. And I even agreed to descend from my position in Rozen's household, though I didn't realize it at the time...

But what was "it"? What was it I had missed, after winning the Alice Game? What could I possibly miss from that world? Bitterness raging within, I re-concluded that the best thing to do at this point was destroy every brother, and collect their Rosa Mystica.

Again, I was reminded of the love we shared. I suddenly recalled how Yuan's eyes had lost their life as I drew his Rosa Mystica from him... I didn't want to have to go through that again.

Shaking my head as if through the action I could rid myself of the memories I did have that I didn't want, I looked around in the dark suitcase. Maybe I should peek outside... Had I already left Rozen's workshop?

Lifting the lid, I observed my surroundings. I was in an alley, the night sky peeking at me from between the rooftops. Very few stars peeked back at me from the dark canvas of the sky, which must have meant I was in a semi-large metropolis.

This was where the previous Alice Game had taken place. Yes, I remembered at least that much. This was nowhere near Rozen's abode.

Recovering from my discovery, I made my suitcase hover in the air, and flew into the night.

Maybe by exploring this city further, I could remember more. If the next Alice Game had already started, I needed to get my bearings, and gain the upper hand. Ugh, it seemed every memory had its mouth clamped on the back of my mind, giving biting pain and just out of reach._ I should remember this._

I flew over the tops of buildings - stores. Another memory let go - there was the elementary school. That had some significance in my last life; maybe I could use it as a central point.

Veering to the right - it seemed so natural, like it was a habit - I let my instincts take over. Going to...a house. Yes, that was right.

I pulled to a stop in front of this house. The lights were on! That must have meant... Was "it" in there?

There was a crash from within the house, followed by a scream.

_No!_ Throwing my suitcase to the side as I jumped out, I turned the doorknob and rushed inside.

A bespectacled brunette girl was fainting onto a couch as I charged into the threshold, and a doll bearing a pole was fighting Yuan.

Yuan. So I'd found one of them.

My emotions from before were overridden by a sudden gush of malice, and I found myself smiling evilly at Yuan. I could kill him right here, while he was still trying to fend off a daemonic toy. I could gain a Rosa Mystica, and be that much closer to getting out of here.

Wait. There was a reason I came here... All I could remember was a sense of urgency to protect someone. Everything else was blank. The memories were nipping at the back of my mind again. Those accursed things!

"Teddo!" Yuan was in a defensive position, using both of his swords as guards as the doll pressed the pole downward, when he noticed me. "Help me!"

Brought back to my senses, I summoned my weapon. As soon as I felt the light I called solidifying in my palm to form a club, I clutched it and rushed the doll. Light trailed behind my club, making it appear as if glitter was slipping off its surface.

As I struck the doll, it naturally bounded back somewhat, but it was otherwise not perturbed in the slightest. Instead, it took advantage of the slight setback, heading for the girl, who was still strewn across the couch.

I felt so helpless! I remembered that any Rozen Knight was nearly powerless without a medium to draw from...

"Vivi!" Yuan leaped from the floor, lunging for the doll. The girl started to twitch in her unconsciousness slightly; she must have been on the verge of losing all of her energy. Assuming she was Yuan's medium, anyway. Taking note of Yuan's obvious advantage over me, I sprinted headlong for the couch.

The doll fended off Yuan with a single movement of its pole, continuing on its course for the girl.

A memory overtook me - I was seeing something else. Feeling past emotions of a former self. The room was slightly adjusted, and the girl had transformed to a little child, completely helpless. Strewn across the couch. The doll had changed to take the form of Yuan, threatening to harm the girl, the tip of his sword dangling menacingly over her head.

My medium. _My _medium.

_"Elli!" I cried, bashing Yuan to pieces. He wouldn't lay a finger on her. Not if I could help it. Every blow had to count. Finally, Yuan lay on the couch cushion, using his swords as guards, begging for mercy._

_But there could be no mercy._

"Teddo. Teddo!"

Suddenly, everything was back in focus. I was in the present. My club hit the cushion one last time - no, wait. It was crushing the white, fluffy remains of the doll.

Did I obliterate it? How so - in my rage? I wasn't even fully focused...

"Teddo. What just happened?" Yuan was the owner of the voice that brought me out of my trance. Turning to him now, I saw that he bore a perplexed expression.

He was asking a question. I realized this, but it was taking me awhile to respond. I felt my eyebrows furrowing as I tried to decipher my thoughts. Already, I'd forgotten what occurred. My memory was letting everything leak through...

"Teddo." Yuan put his hands on my shoulders, shaking me a little.

"I don't know," I simply replied. I wasn't really seeing Yuan right in front of me. Or was I? "I don't know anymore." I found myself shaking my head, wishing for sense to come from reality.

Or for reality to reveal itself.

* * *

**I have to thank my beta, drifblims, for the input she gave. I, of all people, should know that every fanfic author on the face of the planet has a hard time coming up with an absolutely perfect masterpiece, and is never able to achieve it. And it is the feedback of our readers, our betas, and our friends that help us reach our full potential. Thank you.**


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